Real Estate Documents Required by Law
Have you been given the Massachusetts Mandatory Licensee-Consumer Relationship Disclosure?
Have you seen this form?
The Massachusetts Mandatory Licensee-Consumer Relationship Disclosure is often referred to as the Agency Disclosure form. It is required by law that a licensed agent provide you with this form on the first meeting to discuss a specific property. So whether you are buying or selling real estate you should be given this form by every licensed real estate agent you meet with. It is not a contract. When you sign this form you are acknowledging that you have received and read the information. (more…)
17 + Things You Can Do To Prepare Your Home For Real Estate Photos
John & Cindy Farrell – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Get ready for the photos when you put your home on the market. Once you have organized your belongings and then staged your home you are not finished getting ready to put your home on the market. It’s important to take extra care preparing your home for the photos. Many things are often neglected and compromise the quality of the photos and your homes presentation. We have prepared a short list of often overlooked items. Your home has to be prepared a little more for the photos than you would for a showing. A coat over the arm of a chair or a box of tissues on a night stand may be fine when you are showing your home, but not for the photos. The photos will go far and wide and they will usually keep reappearing throughout the time you have the home listed. Once you loose the attention of a buyer you may not be able to get it back.
We often hear how first impressions are important when a buyer comes to see your home. But often the first impression is the photos that are presented online. They are equally important. It may be the difference between a showing and a sale and having your home immediately cut from the list of potential properties with no showing….. without a second thought. 
(more…)
Considering Value Range Pricing to Sell Your Home
Value Range Pricing- What is it and what are the benefits to sellers?
If you have been considering selling your home recently, you may have been hearing about “Value Range Pricing”. There is a lot of erroneous information being conveyed about it. With value range pricing the home is not put on the market at an exact price. It will be given a price range. An example would be value range priced at $325,000 – $375,000. The reality is that when pricing a house, a market analysis will give you a price range that a property falls within not an exact price. All housing and property is unique and the market is constantly changing.
If a house is priced and marketed with this range in mind the benefits can be enormous.
- The home will have a greater exposure to a higher number of potential buyers
- Less time on the market
- Selling price that is actually at market value
The benefits can only be realized with full exposure and easy buyer access to the property. We have heard this type of pricing referred to as bait and switch type advertising which it is not. When a client chooses to market their home with this pricing strategy we thoroughly disclose it. There is nothing being switched. We will disclose in the listing data “Seller’s willing to entertain offers between $____ and $_____.” (more…)
- Published in Real Estate Market Trends, Selling Brief - Selling Real Estate
Electronic Key Boxes – Insist on Them!
Lock boxes, safety and progressive real estate practices
First, what are they? It is simply a computerized secure box that attaches to a doorknob or railing outside the house. The box is opened with an electronic key. An electronic key is assigned to a current licensed agent that subscribes to the service. When used to access a key in the key box information is stored on line about who entered and at what time. We are talking about electronic, not combination boxes. (more…)
What Should You Do With Your Valuables?
Preparing Your Home For Sale – Safeguard those Valuables!
Hopefully you are considering this question as you prepare to sell your home. While the house is on the market you should not be living in it as usual. The general public will be invited to walk through your home. You are selling, stage your house to sell and remove all the valuables! The goal is to position your home correctly and have it sold quickly. The period of time you are inconvenienced should be relatively short.
There are many options available to keep everything safe.
1. Store things with family or friends.
2. Move them to another property
3. Locked closet, safe or drawer
4. Safety deposit box
5. Storage facility
6. Take things with you during the showing or open house (more…)
Selling a home on the North Shore of Boston near the beach?
“I have a house near the beach I’d like to sell. When should I put it on the market?”
We have just put 3 Wauketa Road in Gloucester on the market. It’s located in the private section of Wingaersheek Beach. This home is great for year round living or as a second home. It started out as a cottage in 1968 but like many small cottages it has been expanded and renovated. It takes advantage of the beautiful setting and light with large windows that look out to the water.
Many people look for a home near the beach year round. But there are a portion of potential buyers that want a home near the water to use this summer as a get away. They may also plan to off set the cost of owning this second home by renting it out, possibly by the week. If they are ready to buy now they are also looking at locking in excellent mortgage interest rates.
It’s early spring and if a home is purchased now the buyers will not only be able to take advantage of those great mortgage rates, they will potentially be in their homes and able to enjoy them by Memorial Day if not sooner. That may be the motivation to make that purchase now. The North Shore of Boston has considerable resources to take advantage of and the beaches are just a start. Explore the beaches on Cape Ann. The summer is fast approaching. Where do the buyers of your home want to be?
Interviewing Real Estate Agents – Carefully Assess Answers
Commonly asked questions and the potential shortfall of the answers in Real Estate interviews
After going on many interviews during the past 20 years to list properties for sale, there have been a few questions that stand out that people have asked consistently. By the frequency that we hear them we know that they are important to address. But will you really get the information you are after? The information acquired by simple answers can be inadequate without a consumer knowing. It’s critical to know this while interviewing so you know the potential and can ask follow up questions or phrase them in a way that gives you the information you are really looking for.
How long have you been in the business? There are a lot of agents that have “been in the business” for a very long time and have very little experience. Experience comes from each and every real estate transaction. There is a benefit to hiring an agent that has been in the business for a long time. One reason is that that they gain the experience and skills of working in many market environments. But only if they have completed a large number of transactions consistently throughout this period. To find out about an agent’s experience ask questions about their actual experience. Inquire about how many and what types of transactions have they been involved in. (more…)
Real Estate Videos – North Shore of Boston
- Published in John & Cindy Farrell, Selling Brief - Selling Real Estate
